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I’m a recovering cheapskate. Searching for
value is great, but I have the bad habit — which I’m trying to
break — of undervaluing my time, compromising quality, or both,
in exchange for a few dimes.

I’m also confident in my ability to learn and perform most tasks.
Frugality plus confidence creates a perfect storm: I’m the type
of person who turns everything into a do-it-yourself project.

A do-it-yourself habit is a double-edged sword.
At best, I learn new skills, save money and take pride in my
work. At worst, I juggle too many projects, run myself ragged,
and let my health, business and personal life suffer under the
added strain.

When Will and I started buying houses in need of repair, we heard
people say that our investment is great “if you can do the work
yourself.”

So we did. We installed our own windows, doors and countertops.
We chopped trees, replaced siding and even hung our own gutters.
But we also stopped going to the gym, lost touch with most of our
friends, and became sloppy at our day jobs.

Conversations with friends usually go like this:“Hey, wanna get drinks on Friday night?”
“I can’t. I gotta wake up at 7 a.m. on Saturday to patch drywall
…”

To a limited degree, I didn’t mind. After all, Dave Ramsey says
you need to “live like no one else so
later you can live like no one else.” I can’t create passive
income without sacrificing many evenings and weekends.

But our “day jobs” are suffering, our hair is thinning, and we
don’t get much sleep. Going to the grocery store is my definition
of “taking a break.”

This isn’t just a problem that applies to fixing houses. I have
friends who have started delegating tasks they never expected to
hire out. Some friends hire people to deep-clean their home
monthly. Others hire people to mow their lawn. Some pay people to
code and troubleshoot their websites. What they’re really
buying is time.

Recently we decided to start delegating. We’ll still do many
things ourselves, of course, but we’re making a mental shift:
We’re thinking less like solo-preneurs and more like a
coach trying to recruit a winning team.

In other words: Success isn’t a do-it-yourself
activity. Success comes from the team you build.